Tips To Get Your Kids To Eat Healthy

Summer is going to be over soon and the kids are back to school. As a child, I remember my mom waking up early in the morning to pack a healthy lunch for me and my brother. And if I were to be a mom, I'll definitely do the same thing. So, I totally understand how important it is for moms that their kids eat healthy in school.

However, I am also aware how challenging it is to get the children to eat healthy even at home. How much more if they're in school? Moms will never know what happens in the cafeteria (lunch swaps or foods thrown to the trash can). If children don't like what's in their lunchbox, they're not going to eat it. And they will find ways not to leave an evidence of an uneaten food.

If it is important for you to get your kids to eat healthy and nutritious food and make it their habit, the following tips would be very helpful.

1. Be a good example. Your kids are smart! If they don't see you eating healthy foods, why would they? Parents influence the kids big time and are often looked up to as role models. Set an example by eating healthy at home. Just a couple of reminders:

- Instead of junk food, store fruits, nuts and other healthy snacks that the whole family can enjoy in between meals. The less unhealthy food you keep in the house, the less likely that the kids will look for them outside.

- Don't reward good behavior with treats and don't withhold treats as punishment for misconducts. Rather, treats should be enjoyed on occasion separate from their behavior to make them understand and learn about healthy moderation.

2. Educate the kids. Making demands to eat healthy without explaining the benefits of this action will not likely convince them to obey. Again, your kids are smart. Teach them about healthy nutrition at a young age and it will naturally become a part of their lives and an important lesson in life that they will hold on to until they become adults. But never use their fear to have your way if you don’t want them to turn against you if they want to rebel.

3. Get the kids involved. Let the children take part in grocery shopping, meal planning, even cooking and taking care of the vegetable garden. The more they get involved, the more likely they are to cooperate with your goal for them to eat healthy. It gives them a sense of independence in decision making around food choices and it is equally important to them that they choose what they eat, not you. Just be there anytime the children need direction in understanding healthy food choices and be ready with options for them to choose from.

4. Know what the kids like. Children often prefer sweet vegetables such as carrots, celery, cucumbers, peppers and the like compared to bitter ones such as broccoli, cauliflower and spinach. Find out what they won’t eat when you’re not around. It’s no use putting them in their lunchbox. If you are not sure what they like, engage them into a conversation to find out.

5. Make healthy eating fun for the kids! Children want to eat “fun” food as opposed to grown-up foods. Here are some very creative tips:

- Most healthy foods, especially vegetables, don’t exactly sound fascinating to a child. For example, spinach wouldn’t sound as attractive to Popeye’s Power Salad. And if your child’s name is Sarah, you could make up something like Sarah’s Special Sandwich.

- Name their meals with appealing descriptive words such as “cheesy” and “yummy and don’t forget to rhyme.

- A grown-up meal that I love is called Butterfly Garden. It’s a salad with lettuce, spinach, seedless grapes and croutons that are shaped like butterflies.

- Make healthy eating at home enjoyable especially for the children. They are likely to associate healthy eating with fun and good things.

Image by .michael.newman. on Flickr